Exit Strategies


Recent Exit Strategies Articles

Building a Small Business You Can Sell

Here's how to build a small business you can sell--even if your exit is still years away.  Read more

Demystifying Small Business Valuation

A successful small business sale begins with a solid grasp of business valuation. Here's what you need to know to set your company at the right price.  Read more

Journey From Start-up to IPO

Software-maker ExactTarget went public earlier this year and now boasts a market cap of over $1.3 billion. Founder Scott Dorsey explains the journey.  Read more

How Obama Will Help or Hurt Your Business Sale

President Obama won't have much time to celebrate his win as several key issues loom that could have a large effect on your ability to sell a business.  Read more

How to Build a Company You Can Sell: 4 Rules

A seasoned entrepreneur offers his best tips to get to an exit. A good first step: Give up the idea that you're building the next Facebook.  Read more

Prep Your Business to Sell for Top Dollar

A little polishing up today can boost the value of your business tomorrow. Here are three places to start.  Read more

Long Before the IPO: Shutterstock's Formative Decision 

To sustain a business, Shutterstock CEO Jon Oringer had to balance his price for photos with his payment to photographers.  Watch video

How to Sell Investors Your Dream 

NYC TechStars managing director David Tisch on how to make an effective case for getting funded.  Watch video

Is My Company Really Worth More Than The New York Times?

Evernote CEO Phil Libin ponders his company's billion-dollar valuation.  Read more

Buying a Small Business in a Foreign Country

Your hired experts and own personal research are essential tools for success when purchasing a small business in another country.  Read more

5 Steps to a Successful Seller Financing Deal

With today's tight lending restrictions, offering seller financing may be the key to selling your business and earning a big takeaway.  Read more

5 Best Resources for Selling a Small Business

Don't kid yourself. You're going to need help to pull off the successful sale of your business. Here are five resources you'll need in today's marketplace.  Read more

How to Sell Your Business (& the Land It's On)

When small business sellers own their buildings and land, they need to plan properly in order to successfully sell each.  Read more

Facebook COO: Small Business Is Web's Holy Grail

As Sheryl Sandberg courts Madison Avenue and Wall Street this week, she discussed Facebook's IPO fallout and wooing small business.  Read more

Managing the Emotional Toll of Selling Your Small Business

Don't let your emotions--sorrow, anger, or a sense of loss--hijack the sale of your small business. Here are tips on keeping a level head.  Read more

Why'd You Start Your Business? 3 End Goals

Before you do anything else, figure out why--in the first place--you launched your business. You need to know now what you want to get out of it.  Read more

Entrepreneur Ben Lerer: 'I Realized I Had Been Going to Work the Wrong Way' 

When his father, Ken Lerer, sold The Huffington Post, Ben Lerer realized it's not all about the exit.  Watch video

Is Your Company Suffering From Short-Term-itis?

Managing partner of Satori Capital Sunny Vanderbeck says an overemphasis on short-term results can cause relationships with key stakeholders to erode in a bu...  Read more

Steve Case: IPOs Are Good for You

The founder of AOL makes a good case for why an IPO is often the best exit strategy for a company's founder. But Case has his reasons, and they may not be yo...  Read more

How 'Confidential' IPOs Are Changing the Market

In April, the JOBS Act ushered in a new way to go public. It's already popular.  Read more

Forget IPO. The New Goal? Get Acquired

Economists might explain the decline in IPOs through market conditions. The start-up and venture capital communities see it differently.  Read more

Wait, the IPO Party Is Just Getting Started!

An IPO could still be the right exit strategy--if your company fits the bill, or breaks the old rules.  Read more

Best of Recent IPO Blunders

What is it about going public that inspires such boneheadedness in otherwise super-capable entrepreneurs? Here are the most notorious recent cautionary tales...  Read more

What's the ROI on Your Company?

Before you approach an investor to fund your growth strategy, make sure you are able to articulate what they will receive in return.  Read more

What Makes Method's Sale to Ecover So Different?

Acquisitions often fail. So what makes Method founders Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry believe the sale to Ecover could buck the trend?  Read more